Several weeks ago, our new book (co-edited with Anastasia Telesetsky and Sarah K. Phillips), Handbook of Comparative Environmental Law was published by Edward Elgard Publishing. [Here is also a direct link to Publisher’s book webpage.] The volume surveys the field of comparative environmental law, highlighting key developments across legal systems, common threads, emerging directions, and areas of continuing uncertainty. Most importantly, it brings a global perspective to the field, covering not only the well-studied nations of the global North but also jurisdictions that have historically received much less attention.

Why this book? The urgency of transnational and global environmental challenges is evident in the daily news – ranging from climate change to biodiversity loss to plastics pollution.  To date, much of the international community’s attention in the search for solutions has focused on the negotiation and adoption of environmental treaties, such as the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change. Yet treaty-based approaches have oftentimes disappointed and underperformed. In the meantime, environmental law at the national level has proliferated and grown ever more sophisticated, complex, and diverse.  Today, robust environmental law is found not only in developed nations but also in emerging economies and the developing world. 

Gaining a better understanding of national environmental law systems, especially how they converge or diverge, is then crucial for several reasons. First, when environmental treaties fail to provide timely solutions, national laws provide important alternative or supplementary pathways to solutions. While not all national environmental regulatory systems are equally effective, law reform efforts can benefit greatly from comparative insights into what approaches work best.

Second, the spread of environmental law across the globe itself has created a pressing need for businesses engaged in transnational deals to possess sophisticated knowledge of foreign regulatory systems; otherwise, they risk liability, delays, or other costs. Finally, as cross-border disputes involving environmental issues become more common, courts and arbitral tribunals themselves must develop a stronger command of comparative environmental law to ensure outcomes that are fair, just, and consistent with applicable legal principles. For lawyers engaged in such transnational disputes, expertise in comparative environmental law will undoubtedly benefit their clients.

What is in the book? Our book is designed to contribute to the broader understanding of comparative environmental law.  With contributions from scholars around the world, it is organized into five parts. Part I offers an overview of the book as well as a primer on comparative environmental law (including an introduction to comparative law study generally). Part II explores planning and sustainability approaches to environmental regulation, including environmental impact assessment, PRTR (Pollution Release and Transfer Registries), and sustainability perspectives.  Part III focuses on rights-based frameworks, including the right to a healthy environment, access to information, indigenous peoples’ rights, and rights of nature. Part IV examines accountability mechanisms, including criminal and non-criminal enforcement, environmental courts, and public interest litigation. Finally, Part V surveys or examines issues arising in a number of sectors, ranging from contaminated lands and energy to water pollution and water rights, mining, food waste, biodiversity and air pollution.

In future blogposts, I will highlight some of the most thought-provoking trends that our contributors have identified.  In the meantime, I welcome your thoughts or comments.